- Another Victorious Week For The Club!
Newmarket Ladies 1’s v Oundle Ladies: 7-0 win to Newmarket
Newmarket ladies 1’s helped continue the clubs winning run this weekend as they convincingly beat Oundle ladies 7-0 at home.
The squad brimming with enthusiasm and skill this season were keen to show their intentions of dominating the league from opening push back. Oundle were penned into their defending half and forced to play square and back passes. With pace up front, Beth Wombwell slipped her defender and took on the keeper-with little effort she found the target to take Town in front after 5 minutes. With a full sideline of supporters cheering-the team were lifted to extend this lead. By this point Newmarket were able to sit high in defence. Nicola Boyle made her first team league debut and rose to the challenge and worked superbly with her new teammates at the back.
Town looked comfortable on the ball and coach Chris Evans was able to adjust the team – trying out new position options. Hayley Stoneman taking on a more defensive role this season provided skill and pace toward the midfield leaving Claire McDonnell the chance to sit higher. Oundle were giving Newmarket a lot of space to run with the ball and McDonnell darted up the right and found Di Thomas top D-she took a step inside and struck sweetly to beat the keeper at right post.
McDonnell was rewarded for her unselfish distribution-finding herself free top D after a pinpoint pass from Jazz Wombwell she scampered round 2 players and clipped into goal. A head injury to an Oundle player created a gap in play which was much needed due to the heat.
The second half was as high paced as the first and Town were hungry for more goals. Kerry Alderson like Boyle was making her first team league debut and certainly made an impact on the game with her pace and accuracy.
Beth Wombwell again was on target only for the goal to be disallowed – this was a teaser for the crowd as Angel Fayers stepped up and pounced on the left post soon after, giving Newmarket a fourth.
Looking solid Isabel Hooley and Louise Downs were clinical in their execution of passes confidently worked together to provide the front men shooting opportunities.
Oundle did not give up the fight and for a ten minute period were holding possession well and build chances to shoot towards Sue Bullimore in goal. Getting restless Newmarket finally got the ball away. In a goalline scramble the Oundle keeper must be praised for blocking numerous shots, however Thomas boomed the ball first time into goal to take her team’s tally to 5. Beth Wombwell was also not done with being on the score sheet and swept from mid range to get her brace.
1’s player of 2011/12 season Tania Fisher was on form as usual as was Lydia Evans who was unlucky not to find the target on several occasions. Town’s final goal started from a defensive clearance. Within about 4 passes the ball was heading goalwards. After an initial shot by McDonnell the ball fell nicely for Thomas to reverse sweep away giving her a hat-trick. At this early point of the season the team sit top of the league on goal difference-a position they wish to remain at.
Jenny Richards played her final game for Newmarket before starting student life. She will be missed by the squad and club-they all wish her luck for the future.
Newmarket Ladies 2′s v’s Peterborough Ladies 2′s – Saturday 22nd September (home)
It was a quick pace from the onset in this match with both teams fitness levels really put to the test. The first goal came from Newmarket in the 22nd minute by Lou Downs who has shown she means business now she has recovered from last seasons injury. There were plenty of shots on goal from the Peterborough side but none in the first half could get past Newmarket goalkeeper Sue Bullimore who won man of the match for her efforts. Going into the second half leading 1-0, Newmarket dominated possession for the early part of the second half which was rewarded with a second goal for them by Tracey Cockerill in the 9th minute. It wasn’t long after that Peterborough got their first goal however. There was some great play by Newmarkets Zoe Bailey, April Atkinson, Sam Brooke & Grace Evans and in the 31st minute Lou Downs got her second goal making it 3-1 to Newmarket and securing the win.
Newmarket 1st XI 6-0 St Neots 1st XI
Goal scorers – Harry Bell x 2, Matt Holden x 2, Ollie Wade and Mark Pears
Newmarket went into their first home game of the 2012-13 season fairly heavily disrupted by the unusually early start to season. With right winger Mr Suzanna Burrows trying to develop a life away from the sport he loves, Simon Harrington using Pedalo’s as only he can in Spain and James Wrinch spending more time than desired with the contents of his own stomach the team were forced into a re-shuffle. Mark Pears was moved from centre forward to right back, Dave Worrall moved to centre back with Matt Holden returning to play right wing.
Having won every home game during last season conceding only 3 goals in the process, the team were still confident. They came up against an experienced resilient St Neots team who were not prepared to roll over and competed all over the park. As the game progressed Newmarket’s superior ability and greater team work enabled them to dominate both possession and territory. Newmarket won a flurry of penalty corners capitalising on the third one when Harry Bell deflected in Ollie Wade’s pass.
The second goal followed soon after, Matt Holden drove the by line from the right wing. Skelton was open for square pass and a certain tap in, Holden instead opted to play a 1-2 with the goalkeeper’s pads. Fortunately for the team, and definitely for Holden, he tucked away the rebound.
Despite Newmarket dominance, St Neots kept the back four of Pears, Worrall, Jordan Newnes and Will Wilson on their toes. Goal keeper Chris Routs had to be alert to dart from his line and block, this left more space for Newmarket to attack and Holden soon scored the third, collecting Leggett’s fine through ball and beating the keeper with a shot from a tight angle. The half time whistle went soon after with the team 3 goals to the good.
The second half was more of the same, Ollie Wade continued his fine recent performances at left half, providing great defensive cover for his full back and through a combination of lung busting runs and individual skill giving his closest opponents plenty to worry about. Following a great attack down the left, involving most the team, Mike Skelton passed to Leggett, who slipped to Bell to score his second.
The fifth was scored by Ollie Wade, Alex Andreou’s shot was blocked by the St Neots keeper, Skelton picked up the rebound and squared for Wade to force home, the scoring was rounded off by Mark Pears who slammed home after the keeper had blocked Wilson initial penalty corner effort.
Man of the match was Ollie Wade and Dick of the day Will Wilson (very harsh, as the author of the match report felt he had an outstanding game, bettered by only Wade), for losing his keys and chucking a couple of less than average aerials. The team were also grateful to Greg Cummins for benching, hopefully with a little more persuasion he could play every week!
Next week the team are at home to Wisbech, the game starts at 3:30, supporters are always very welcome. The club are fortunate to have a large squad for their men’s teams, but new players are always welcome to join our successful growing club, the men train at 7pm on Wednesday evenings at the leisure centre, please look on the website www.newmarkethockeyclub.co.uk for more info.
Newmarket Mens 2′s v Grantham: 2-1 win to Newmarket
With last weeks game playing on the minds of the Newmarket team, they travelled to Grantham with a resolve to put right last week’s injustice. Due to a delayed start tensions where building but these evaporated as the whistle blew to begin.
Newmarket immediately began where they left off last week, with the new forward partnership of Will Hosegood and James Atkinson combining to create some early chances. The chances came to nothing though as a combination of bad luck and some errant shooting conspired to keep the game level.
Grantham where not to be easily subdued however, and responded with some quick break-away attacks. These where soaked up with some robust defending from the usual back four of Boyle, Atkinson senior(very, very senior) Jenkins and Prentice. The latter proving that even the old boys have some running left in them, but it will be Thursday before he feels his legs again.
The attacks from Grantham where few and far between though, and yet again Newmarket commanded the midfield, with Ben Gottfredson and Mark Simpson pairing up effectively and feeding the wingers, Jordan Walker on the left and Rob Greene on the right.
Despite the amount of pressure exerted by Newmarket however, the half-time score remained 0-0, leaving Newmarket wondering what they would have to do to get the ball into the back of the net.
The second half began as the first half ended, with Newmarket piling on the pressure. This was rewarded by a penalty corner, which goal machine Hosegood promptly planted into the back of the net, 1-0 Newmarket. This goal buoyed up the team and they put even more pressure onto a flagging Grantham and another penalty corner was awarded. Enter Mr Hosegood to smash another one into the back of the goal, 2-0 Newmarket and a win was on its way.
Despite a late rally from Grantham which led to what was probably the goal of the game, unfortunately scored by Atkinson senior past the despairing Chris Warren in the Newmarket goal, Newmarket hung on to record their first win of the new season which was thoroughly deserved.
- Spalding Take Full Glory – League & Cup Double
Newmarket ladies 1’s v’s Spalding ladies 1’s: 4-2 win to Spalding
The League Cup Final was certainly a contest not to be missed last Saturday as Newmarket ladies 1’s put on a brave and gutsy display against League winners Spalding.
Both teams had had a 3 week gap in match play but this did not show as they battled for every ball making it an exciting contest for supporters; the team were very grateful to so many people coming to cheer Town on.
Sadly it was not a dream start for Newmarket as Spalding strung together some hot passing and created a short corner. The first effort was dealt with well by the Newmarket defence however the second short corner was too swift for Town and Spalding took the lead from close range. It did not take them long to get another in similar style and what seems to be becoming a routine for Town -they were forced to chase the lead.
Newmarket did not give up and began to dominate possession but despite this the final shot on goal did not find the target and with a quick break Spalding took the ball up-field. Switching left to right the winger struck from mid D increasing the team’s lead to 3-0 which remained until half time.
Sensing the bitter taste of defeat, Newmarket wanted to fight back and try and win the silverware after the league top spot went Spalding’s way.
Position switched Newmarket took it straight to Spalding with tiresome work from Hayley Stoneman and Claire McDonnell. The ball was no longer able to creep into Town’s defending D as the defence stood solid.
With pure conviction and determination McDonnell broke free on the right and dodged her way past defenders to score for Newmarket. Sensing a comeback Spalding looked nervous and tempers started to fray. Newmarket eager to keep this flow going played a lot of long balls with every team member fighting on. This effort was rewarded as McDonnell scored again from the right – the clatter of the backboards not even heard as a great cheer came from the Newmarket.
With 10 minutes left to go the pace steadied and Spalding were taking more time on the ball. Newmarket still looked strong but were drawn forward leaving channels open for Spalding. Sadly this gave opportunity for them to sneak into the D un-tracked and with a reverse stick flick they got their fourth. Despite a last minute short corner Town had to settle for 2nd in the cup competition, losing 4-2.
Coach Chris Evans said he was very proud of the team and they have a lot to look forward to next season as they will attempt to win the cup and league again.
GOALKEEPERS NEEDED!
We are in desperate need for female goalkeepers next season. If you are interested please go to www.newmarkethockeyclub.com and contact our team captains or coaches as soon as possible. All levels of experience welcome and there will be opportunity to train over the warmer months before the start of the new season.
- LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!
St Ives III 0 – 6 Newmarket I
Goal scorers: Mike Skelton x 3, Josh Dawson x 2, Ollie Wade
Newmarket weren’t looking forward to the final league game of the 2011-12 season. They did however want to seal another victory to take them to 61 points, 16 ahead of second placed City of Peterborough.
They dominated from the outset, the central midfield pairing of Alex Andreou and Chris Leggett controlling the game. Newmarket had to wait until the 15th minute to break the deadlock. Andreou struck the free hit from outside the 25 for Mike Skelton to deflect past the keeper from close range.
Matt Holden was his normal mercurial self, winning many penalty corners. After Will Wilsons flick was saved by the keeper, Jordan Newnes came up from the back to miss the first of many opportunities. From the third penalty corner, Simon Harrington found Josh Dawson to score with a routine straight from the training ground.
With Harrington and Newnes commanding at centre back goalie Chris Routs was once again a bystander. This allowed full backs Wilson and Dawson to bomb forward combining well with Wade and Mark Pears down the flanks. The third goal came when Dawson overlapped down the right and squared for Skelton to strike into the far corner on his reverse stick.
Newmarket were 3 goals to the good at half time and hoped to more than double that in the second half. Ollie Wade scored the fourth, bravely diving in to finish off a Pears cross from a couple of yards out. Skelton completed his hat trick deflecting Andreou’s cross from the right wing past the keeper at the near post. The scoring was wrapped up by Dawson, who was played through by Skelton and flicked past the keeper on his reverse.
Rob Green played well having been called up after many good performances for the second team, he certainly looks like a player for the future. Man of the match was Mike Skelton, dick of the day Dave Worrall who due to work commitments only made it for the last 15 minutes, many felt Newnes was fortunate not to get dotd himself having fluffed many chances to score his first goal of the season. This draws a remarkable season to a close, the 5 months until the 2012-13 starts feels like an eternity! Long live the revolution.
- First Level Score For Ladies 1′s
- 2′s On Hot Form!
Newmarket Ladies II’s vs. Lowestoft Ladies II’s – At Newmarket
The weather was on fire and so were the Newmarket Ladies 2’s this Saturday as they played their hearts out against Lowestoft at home. The pace was steady for the first half which probably had something to do with the hot conditions but Newmarket picked it up towards the end of the half to show they weren’t messing around and Cassie Ayms produced the goods with a whack and a half from a short corner to give Newmarket the 1-0 lead. The second half was evenly fought with Lowestoft missing more than a few chances of a goal due to Sue Bullimore’s quick fire saves in goal and her efforts were rightfully awarded with the Coaches player of the match and joint woman of the match! It looked like Lowestoft were going to bring the score to a 1-1 draw but with a great passing effort from the defence to the midfield, proving the new 4-4-2 formation was working, April Atkinson swept the ball through to Verity MacMahon who found her way around the Lowestoft goalkeeper to secure the 2-0 win for Newmarket.
19 March 2012- 3′s End Promising Season With A Few Grazes
Newmarket had an early start for their last match of the season and were hoping to go out on a win but within minutes of the match starting it became clear that they were not all up to their usual form. Wisbech pushed strongly for a goal which they eventually won with a great strike from the edge of the D. Towards the end of the first half Newmarket started to get things together and move towards the Wisbech goal but silly errors on the Newmarket side meant that Wisbech gained possession before the got to the D. A half time reshuffle brought Nikki Cole in to the action and away from the wings but just as she was starting to make a difference a well executed penalty corner meant that Wisbech won themselves another goal. Newmarket buckled down to try and score themselves but despite some excellent play by player of the match Jade Atkinson linking up with centre forward Donna Keates. A last ditch attempt at a goal in the final minutes ended up with Donna Keates finding herself underneath the goal keeper giving herself a few grazes as a memento of the season. The game ended 0 – 2.
12 March 2012- Goalfest Against Wisbech!
Newmarket Ladies 1′s V Wisbech Ladies 2′s: 10-0 win to Newmarket (officially recorded as 9-0 but players can remember 10).
Scorers: Di Thomas 2, Lucy Brown 2, Beth Wombwell 2, Gail McDonnell 1, Lydia Evans 1 (pen), Jenny Richards 1, Ruth Godden 1.Facing Wisbech for the third time this season and winning a game each, Newmarket were keen to give a true reflection on their abilities by winning their final clash.
With many supporters out to cheer Town on the scene was set for a great game; and it did not take long before Newmarket took control, barely letting Wisbech have the ball for more than 10 seconds. After 6 minutes Di Thomas found the back of goal after a sweeping in a rebounded shot from Lucy Brown. She also claimed the second, executing her familiar reverse stick flick through the keeper’s legs in the 25th minute.
Newmarket sustained the pressure and won a short corner, committed Captain Gail McDonnell took stance at top D and smashed a shot goalwards, Jenny Richards was swift to react on the left post to deflect home taking Town 3-0 up at half time.
Now fully charged Newmarket took a short half time break and opened the second half with confidence. The attacks were relentless and Newmarket’s passing was superb. not even 5 minutes had gone and Beth Wombwell found space in the D to first time clip a shot that edged perfectly inside the post leaving the Keeper stranded.
Despite the efforts up front Newmarket were still solid at the back and the defense and midfield were able to push forward keeping the play in their attacking half. Positioning was perfect as Wisbech were not able to deliver any thorough balls leaving Jess Boyle with little to do in the Town goal.
Next to take aim was Lucy Brown; she smacked a ball home after an initial rebound with the greatest of ease.
Wombwell got her chance again in front of the keeper to get her second through a lovely move that started on the right wing.
Not to be outdone, Brown got her second from a tight angle.
McDonnell was next to strike after being given space from her defensive duties she followed up on a goal-line tussle to get her first of the season.
After a foot stopping a shot on the line, Lydia Evans coolly converted a penalty stroke to take the score to 9-0.
The final goal came from first team debutant Ruth Godden; she confidently picked out the bottom right of goal – her performance was worthy of the man of the match award and would welcome her as a permanent addition of the first team squad.
The victory takes Newmarket to second place in the league by a single point. With leaders Spalding having a game in hand and with 1 game left for Newmarket to play, it will be down to their rivals to decide who wins the promotion battle.
- On Course For League Victory!
Newmarket Mens 2′s v’s Ely: 1-0 win to Newmarket
With Newmarket’s promotion bid being stalled by the recent inclement weather, Saturday’s away trip to Ely could prove to be a vital game in that bid. Newmarket started strongly, with the midfield of Barney Bowens, Andrew Beardon, Adam Gallop and Mat Smith dominating the early encounters and this dominance continued throughout the match. With the front pairing of the two Wills (Balding and Hosegood) creating problems for the Ely defense an early goal seemed inevitable and without the intervention of an inform Ely goalkeeper this would have been the case. With early shots raining down on the goal it took some superb saves to keep Newmarket at bay. Halfway through the first period super subs Jordan Walker and Mark Simpson joined the fray and brought fresh energy to the attack, and success soon came Newmarket’s way with young Walker harassing the Ely defense into a rare mistake and setting up Hosegood to finally make the breakthrough that all the pressure deserved. The rest of the first period continued in the same way but Newmarket where unable to capitalise and the half stayed one nil to Newmarket.
With Newmarket in confident mood, the second half started the way the first half ended and Ely’s goal was put under constant pressure with Ely’s defense taking up a siege mentality to keep out a rampant attack, with nine of Newmarket’s players in the Ely 25 yard area. Ely wouldn’t give up however, and after soaking up all the pressure that Newmarket could put them under, they started to create break away opportunities. The Newmarket defense of Darren Jenkins, Adrian Atkinson, Marc Prentice and skipper Pete Boyle was more than a match for the Ely forwards however and quickly snuffed out any attack with keeper Chris Warren only touching the ball once during the whole game.
Despite the almost constant pressure the score-line remained one nil to Newmarket, this being mainly due to the Ely keeper who had kindly paid us a visit from Ely’s second team, and he was without doubt their savior. But with another win under their belts and with a strong team effort, Newmarket’s promotion bid is firmly back on course.
- 7 Points Clear At The Top!
Newmarket Men I 7-0 Alford Men I
Goal scorers: Ollie Wade x 2, Josh Dawson x 2, Simon Harrington, Matt Holden & Mike Skelton
After snow enforced a winter break Newmarket played their first game for 3 weeks, the warm up was sluggish, but once the game started Newmarket fell into their stride and had their third placed opponents from Skegness under the cosh from the first minute.
The domination soon turned into goals, the first a lovely team goal starting with a ball from right back Dave Worrall, to Mike Skelton, he laid it off to Chris Leggett who fired the ball into the D, Matt Holden squared for Ollie Wade to put the ball into an empty net. Ollie Wade soon scored a second to double the lead.
Matt Holden scored the third goal, sweeping Leggett’s defence splitting pass into the far corner, leaving the opposing keeper helpless. This forced a change of tactics from the opposition, who switched to a half court press. This just heaped more pressure on their defence as they defended deeper and deeper, enabling Newmarket to force numerous penalty corners.
The practice the team put into short corners at this weeks training soon began to pay off, Josh Dawson scored twice from two different short corner routines before Simon Harrington scored the sixth from an improvised routine.
Just before half time, Alford forced a couple of penalty corners off their own, from one of these Chris Routs leapt like a salmon to deflect the drag flick for a long corner. The whistle went for half time, Newmarket had played well, but really should have had more goals to show for it! On reflection a mixture of near misses, good keeping and overcrowding the D were the main reasons.
The team were keen to extend their advantage and maintain their clean sheet in the second half, they managed the second part but in truth, didn’t get out of second gear and coasted through the half. Credit must be given to Alford who defended stubbornly and kept the number of clear scoring opportunities to a minimum.
The team were unlucky not to be awarded a couple of penalty strokes for shots that hit defenders on the line, from another sweeping routine involving Worrall and Will Wilson, Mark Pears was very unlucky when his shot deflected wide off the on rushing keepers helmet.
It took until a few minutes from the end for Newmarket to score the seventh, Wilson split the defence with a great pass, Holden’s shot was saved by the keeper and Mike Skelton finished high into the roof of the net.
Man of the match had a few contenders, Jordan Newnes maintained concentration well and marked the tricky centre forward out of the game, Ollie Wade was solid at left half, but man of the match was Chris Leggett for an outstanding display in the centre. His work rate and ball retention were crucial to the teams performance. Dick of the day was Mark Pears, who can consider himself very unlucky to be the recipient in a game with no match related contenders.
This was a solid display from Newmarket, with second placed City of Peterborough drawing at Long Sutton, the team have now opened a seven point gap between themselves and Peterborough. With third a long way back and playing Peterborough away next week, the team have the opportunity to put 10 points between them and second with five left to play.
- ‘Peri’ Good Game Despite Not Winning
Newmarket 3′s v Spalding: 3-1 win to Spalding
Newmarket lost no time in rescheduling this cancelled match from last week, and the weather had certainly taken a turn for the better. The match started well with Newmarket pushing towards the Spalding goal. Spalding soon retaliated and the Newmarket defence struggled to get the ball out of the D, before long Spalding scored their first goal and shortly followed it with a second. Newmarket became more determined not to be stuck defending the goal and attacked more vigorously for the rest of the first half, Spalding’s defence prevented most efforts from entering their D. It wasn’t until almost half time that Newmarket player Peri Green carried the ball from one end of the pitch to the other and scored with support from fellow player Nikki Cole. Newmarket started the second half with hope of a recovery, but still the Spalding defence Kept Newmarket away from their goal and even managed another one for themselves half way through the second half . Player of the match was well earned by Peri Green, and promising performances were shown by Fiona Milton a recent newcomer to the club and Jade Atkinson who played goal having only recently turned 13.
